Documentation Week Part 2

Here is the post for the second half of documentation week, covering Wednesday and Thursday. Sorry for it being a bit short and a bit late.

Wednesday we were supposed to have a lecture about architectural documentation and how to properly measure areas for documentation. Instead we had a very long lecture mostly focused on mosaics, wall paintings and frescoes. The lecturer talked to us about anything and everything that came to his mind that he thought was important for conservators to know. He spent a great deal of time trying to explain chemical formulas and materials used in conservation of different types of building materials and when they are used. The lecture felt very erratic and scattered. He would be talking about mosaic conservation, then discuss the methods for removing fungus, start talking briefly about wall paintings, and then go back to mosaics. The last five minutes of the lecture were spent talking about measuring and recording. While all of the information was useful, it was presented in a very irregular way that made it very difficult to understand, not even taking into consideration the language difficulties. It was not my favorite lecture. After the lecture we went into the courtyard and applied what (little) we learned about measuring to our small sections. Then we had a lecture and tour by the director of the conservation department of the Israel Antiquities Authority. We toured the Hospitaller Fortress again, focusing on the methods of conservation used and the reasons behind their use.

On Thursday we were back in Khan esh-Shawarda working on our conservation plans. We applied what we had learned during the week to what we had worked on when we were first at the khan. We took more "professional" photographs and did a more detailed documentation of our area. After working at the khan we had our local culture session of the week. We went to a children's welfare club run by an urban kibbutz in Akko where we learned about the kibbutz, their history and mission, and the different programs they run in the city. It was really interesting to learn how a kibbutz can function inside of a city.